My Best Friend's Ex Girlfriend
by BelieveInKi1214
Summary: A girl turned up at the Gates of Konoha battered and broken for wear. He didn't know what it was about her; He refuses to say that she's just another face. Oh, wait; what's going to happen to the Village? - Set sometime around the beginning of the Chuunin Exams... Kotetsu/Kagome/Izumo pairing. Full story Now...
1. His Ex

**My Best-friend's Ex-Girlfriend **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you publicly recognize. **

**Summary: A girl turned up at the Gates of Konoha battered and broken for wear. He didn't know what it was about her; He refuses to say that she's just another face. Oh, wait; what's going to happen to the Village? [Has no specific time]**

**Alright, I'm doing this to practice with fluff, and romantic stuff so that my other stories will turn out better. And, because there are no Izumo/Kagome/Kotetsu pairings! Heheh, so I'm killing two birds with one stone, ne? **

**Happy reading!**

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><p>He didn't like his job. Well, it wasn't his job that he didn't like, per se, but more clear, the mission he was on now. But, it wasn't a mission; well, not really. He's just staying near the gates while patrolling for anything that was out of the norm or anything that could be a possible threat.<p>

Usually Kotetsu would have accompanied him, but today he had to run an errand for Sandaime Hokage-sama. He had told Izumo that he would meet him at the check-in station at the front of the gates when he was done, but that could take forever. There really was no telling what tasks had Kotetsu run off to do…

He heaved a sigh.

It wouldn't be too much of a hassle to actually have some action. He couldn't exactly help his odd hobby; fighting with other shinobi. [It's only because it's an outlet for all of his problems…] The only action that they had was whenever they had last got sent on a B-ranked mission, that was oh so long ago, and now Izumo was searching for a new reprieve; at least something to take up his free time until Kotetsu showed up.

So, he kept walking along the pathway not even paying the slightest attention to what was ahead of him.

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><p>She coughed as she stumbled through the clearing, she could see it. She could almost see the light. There were always people talking about dying; about how they could see the light before they died. Now, she understood what they meant. Was she dying? All she wanted to do was see her ex boyfriend one last time; it was one of her last wishes after what she had just been through. And dying would be a relief, if she could receive it as her parting gift in exchange for her past pains and tortures.<p>

…It really had served as a surprise whenever she had been attacked by the ninja of the neighboring villages that held something against her, a miko. They all just wanted what everyone always did; power. She didn't have it, so they decided to take their issue out on her. None too kindly either… She was lucky she escaped with the stabs and bruises that she did. Even if she could feel her reiki working swiftly to cleanse and heal her wounds, she still felt like she was dying.

"Kotetsu…" she muttered softly in a rasped voice as she collasped.

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><p>Izumo heard it. His teammate's name… it was a voice that he'd heard many times before. The one that belonged to the one woman who'd caught his interest so long ago. Now, the bell's voice sounded exhausted and filled with suppressed pain. Even then, she still sounded beautiful to him…<p>

He ran to the gate opening trying his hardest to find the owner of the voice. _Kagome…_ he thought, worrying that something was wrong.

Whenever he found her, his heart clenched in his chest as he took in her condition.

She looked like she had been mauled by a bear. There were claw marks that ran along the sides of her that was sloshed in blood and grime, stab marks, and even more jagged cuts along the back of her kimono.

The last time he saw her, she was in a much better condition than she is in now. But now, he fears that their meeting is a little more serious than the last time.

"Kagome... what happened?" he whispered, while holding her form to him gently.

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><p><strong>AN: Two-Shot.<br>This is practice for my Team Kakashi story and Madara's Jewel. **


	2. She Wants YOU

**AN: Here's part two, _finally_... **

**Though, honestly, I actually completely forgot about this when I was updating all of my other stories, but then I got a random review this recently that reminded me that I needed to update it. So, sorry about that; and thanks for the reminder. :)**

**And, I'm thinking of making this into an all-out story like you suggested, I feel like two chapters isn't going to cover anything too well... But, we'll see. **

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><p>Beeping noise... it was irritating... but there wasn't anything that she could <em>do<em>. As she tried to remember what had happened, her eyes screwed shut even tighter as her heart seemed to race even faster. Unfortunately, though, the memories came back to her in a rush as she had called for them to come to her.

A sob almost broke through the mask that was covering her face; she was guessing it was a breathing mask as she heard wheezing noises come from somewhere beside her as a cough emitted instead of the attempted cry. She remembered everything, though, but the captain of the squad of ninja's that had decided to attack her. She remembered that they had took their time to get her to give them what they wanted, slowly dragging their pikes down the spine of her back, and stabbing her repeatedly _near_ her heart; not to kill her, but to deepen her darkest tortures. She remembered it all.

She was lucky the wound near her heart wasn't vital enough to kill her.

That it was weak enough to let her travel from her home to the nearest gate opening of Konoha... that she could see her ex lover again.

A face flashed through her mind as she whined at the sting that she felt traveling down her spine - a renewed liquidy feeling gathering around the injury that was wrapped in tight boundings around her torso as her blood calmed the stinging on it's own by lathering the nearly fresh wound. Her body tensed in the remnants of her pain.

As the pain slowly ebbed away, she chanced opening her eyes to see that she was in a hospital, as she had expected whenever she'd heard the damned beeping noise. She didn't bother trying to get up, or move for that matter. So, she just looked up to the ceiling with a grimace on her breathing-mask covered face, she really didn't want to feel the tiny pinches of the IV's tugging as she moved anyways.

"Ah..." a female voice spoke from somehwere in the room. "She seems to be awaking."

Kagome didn't speak for a moment, and just blinked a few times.

She heard the woman getting up from a seat a few paces away from the hospital bed that she was lying in before heading her way. The woman certainly was doing her best not to scare Kagome as she walked with loud-enough footsteps, and a gentle smile on her face whenever she reached for the clipboard that had Kagome's health facts from past problems, and her current condition.

"You took quite the beating," she hummed quietly with a small frown.

Kagome finally found her voice, though it was rough with sleep from being out for some time, she knew. "Where - Who brought me here?"

The woman looked curiously at Kagome with raised eyebrows. She was a basic brunette, hair pulled back into a low ponytail, glittering black eyes, with red triangular markings on her face, an Inuzuka; Kagome remembered seeing her around... though she didn't really know her name... "Kamizuki Izumo; you're lucky you made it to the gates of Konoha in time, otherwise I think you would have died... he seemed pretty torn up about this too."

Kagome winced as another flash of pain went down her spine; it appeared they healed the most life threatening wounds first; she knew her body was working over time to heal every single slash that was embedded in her skin, hence why her voice was dry and her muscles were stiff, she must have been out for a while since she got injured in the first place, and she couldn't help but ask the lady a few more questions.

"How long have I been unconcious?"

"Three days."

She sighed. _And Izumo... he brought me here, huh?_, she thought to herself as another face flashed through her memories, it was one of her ex's best friend whom she's only met a handful of times before he suddenly stopped being around the couple for reasons Kagome didn't know. It wasn't like she minded his presence... actually she liked having him around... quite a lot... which is possibly why Kotetsu ended their pitiful 'relationship' which was almost non-existant... but she felt like she owed him, so she came to see him before she died...

She really hadn't counted on Izumo being the one to find her and bring her to the hospital. That he'd be the one to see her dying instead of her past lover... And she couldn't help but wonder what he told him. Knowing him, he probably told Kotetsu that she came back... dressed in red, not really mentioning that she might even be on her deathbed, dying right this second.

"Is my savior going to arrive back anytime soon?" she questioned once more, a little bit of hope had making itself known to her. She really did miss the germaphobic man when she had left, honestly. She thought of the times that she, Kotetsu and Izumo had spent together. The times that Izumo would stop by her house whenever Kotetsu was out doing work... the time that she locked herself away after Kotetsu broke it off between himself and her and Izumo had came to hold her as she held back broken sobs. And the last time she saw them as she moved away with a sad smile on her face...

_It wouldn't matter if he came back to see me in here..._, she thought. _I have to see the Hokage, as soon as I get my wraps changed_.

"You know," the medic thought aloud. "I'm not really sure... he kept visiting while you were still out to sit by your bedside... My guess is that he might show up again sooner or later."

Kagome would have smiled at the small sentimentality he'd shown, had she been in any other condition; him showing up just to sit by her bedside and wait until she woke up, but she wasn't she's still in pain and she needs to speak to the Hokage for more important matters than this. A smile tried to appear anyways, but Kagome fought back against it, forcing her lips into a tight line.

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><p>Izumo was in the Hokage's office. Why was he here? He needed to be at the hospital, visiting Kagome; he made it his responsibility to see it through that she leaves that hospital healed and with a chipper look on her face. But, the Hokage had called both he and Kotetsu in to turn in the paperwork that had arrived at the gates earlier that day. It appeared that Kotetsu didn't really care as much to see Kagome, as he stared indifferently, holding the papers knocking at the Sandaime's door.<p>

Well, there _was_ actually a reason why he didn't seem to be as anxious as Izumo.

Izumo coudln't bring himself to tell his friend that Kagome's back, and in the hospital... He didn't even know how he'd react, and he still didn't know why he broke up with her. So he'd tried his best to keep it to himself even in the past three days that Kotetsu kept offering him to go out and have a drink, or even when he asked to train... Izumo just calmly refused, telling him that he had a lot on his mind, had to help out Asuma with training his genin, and had promised to help Genma rearrange his furniture.

"Alright, you two are dismissed," the Hokage's voice cut him short of his thoughts, as a relieved expression came upon Izumo's face.

Kotetsu looked at his friend oddly, with a single brow raised as they began to walk out the door. "In a hurry to move some furniture?"

"No, that was yesterday, Tetsu," Izumo replied absentmindedly, picking up his pace slightly. "Hey, look; I'll catch up with you later, I need to go to the hosp-" his voice cut off, which made Kotetsu stare even more attentively at him. "Nevermind, I need to go... pick up some bandages from the store instead; the hospital won't give them to me willingly, anyways. They have customers in need..." Izumo caught himself quickly, covering up the traces that shown he had been lying by speaking smoothly.

A little _too_ smoothly.

"What do you need bandages for?" Kotetsu frowned. "We restocked two days ago, and there's no way that we used all of our first aid equipment."

"It's for a friend," Izumo answered truthfully, finally meeting Kotetsu's eyes, making said male's frown disappear slightly.

"Oh," he murmured. "I could come with you... we haven't hung out in a while - ever since you got that solo patrolling mission, actually."

Izumo just shrugged in response, as he tried to think of a way to lose Kotetsu... _But maybe it would be right if he saw her again... Kagome obviously had a reason for coming all the way out there, and murmuring Kotetsu's name_. Just the thought of that made Izumo's heart throb a little painfully, knowing it wasn't him that she came to see, but he ignored it, swallowing quietly.

That didn't matter... whatever he did, he's going to have to warn his friend before he sees the gruesome sight that he himself was granted with three days ago.

"There's a reason why, actually," he said quietly.

Kotetsu stopped walking as they were outside the Hokage's tower now, and were a few feet down the street from the shops. He turned slowly to his friend his his eyebrows raised in question. "Oh?"

"Kagome's back, Kotetsu," Izumo mumbled, not being able to find his voice effectively, but he looked his friend in the eyes none the less, watching as hurt flashed in his eyes, and understanding as well.

"You're seeing her," it wasn't a question. Izumo answered it anyways.

"I kind of had to..." he trailed off at seeing his friend turn abruptly going in another direction, walking off. "Kotetsu - wait! Don't you want to know why I was going to the hospital in the first place?"

He was a few feet away from Izumo now as he looked expectantly at him. "Not really. But, you can go ahead and tell me since I'm already stopped."

Izumo stayed where he was before speaking a little louder than he had before. "Kagome was attacked... she was actually dying, and she came here with the intent of seeing _you_."

Kotetsu showed no sign of caring as he just stared, knowing that Izumo was going to tell him more.

"The only name she whispered whenever I found her lying in the grass covered in her own blood was your name... And look, I don't know why you broke up with her. But, I really don't think that matters right now, does it? She obviously wanted to see you; and it must have been important if she dragged herself all the way here despite being nearly torn apart..."

His speech seemed to have the desired effect as a troubled look came over his friend's face... and it took him a minute, but he ended up walking back to his friend slowly, with a frown even more serious than Izumo had ever seen it.

"What happened to her? How is she now?"

"I don't know... she had a few deep cuts near her vital organs, and she lost a lot of blood... but yesterday whenever I saw her, she was breathing better than she had been. They gave her a blood transfusion and told me that she should be waking up today."

Kotetsu winced, his eyebrows drawing together in an expression of pain, though he was a bit relieved that she'd be waking up today. "But you just told me today? Even though she's been here for _three_ days?"

"You know exactly why I did what I did," Izumo almost bit out, but instead his voice was empty with the hurt that he had to go through, watching his best friend be with, and eventually break away from Kagome; causing her to leave him as well. His eyes glittered as he stared ahead with his emotions being held at bay. "You were acting as if she didn't exist ever since she left. You never did tell either of us why you broke up with her... And, I know it's not really my business, but; don't you think that was a little unfair?"

His friend didn't speak to him after that, keeping to himself as Izumo walked on straight to the hospital with him by his side before he let out a sigh. He didn't really know why he broke up with her, either... to be honest. But, the way he saw it back then; she wasn't really with him... she seemed to be more into his best friend, more happier with him. Kotetsu was hurt by that, and he only saw it fit to break it off with her, just the same. But, he didn't think that she'd even care; he just didn't want to watch her go off with Izumo as he watched from a tree near her house. He knew her well enough to know that she wasn't very happy with him...

"She didn't want me as much as I wanted her," he spoke softly.

Izumo stopped in his tracks with a look of confusion on his face as he eyed his bestfriend with yet another emotion change.

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><p>Her doctor, Hana, she learned was her name, had left the room a while ago and now her nurse was checking over her condition with the same clipboard that Hana had used. Kagome was getting upset with the way that they were taking their time when there was obviously something that she needed to do right now, more important than her healing. Of course she was grateful that they took her in to the hospital; her reiki wouldn't have been able to heal her properly had she stayed out there, which would have eventually led to her dying. But, the issue prior to any importance as of now was getting to the Hokage to warn him of the Sound Shinobi that had attacked her; he needed to know what all she scraped up.<p>

She'd only remembered that one of the men had said that their leader was after her for her power; and her being a miko that had grown up in Konoha; they essentially needed it for something that she didn't even remember.

Kagome was cut out of her thoughts as Hana came back into the room looking a little pleased and surprised, her nurse must have left... Kagome thought over when she could have gone, though.

"Um... Kagome-san, you have visitors..." Hana spoke with a small smile.

Kagome nearly gasped in shock, happy that Hana had removed the air tubes and mask, though she kept the infernal IVs in her arms. "I do?"

"Yes," Hana nodded, but then frowned. "But, first I need to change your bandages, I just realized that your wounds had reopened whenever you woke up. They can wait a few more moments."

Kagome gingerly sat up in her bed, she wasn't really wearing anything besides the wraps that were wrapped, now loosely, around the top half of her abdomen, and some hospital pants that one of the medics had dressed her in - _I hope it was a girl_, she thought distractedly.

Hana made her way to Kagome with a large bounty of bandages before she set them off on the operation table beside her. She went around to the back of Kagome, seeing that the blood stain was much larger than she'd thought. But luckily it stopped a while ago, seeing as the blood was starting to darken as a sign of Kagome's fast healing, and there was no bloodstains on the bed since the bandages had soaked up what they could and dried seemingly immediately after.

She removed the dirty bandages, tossing them into a nearby trashcan before leaning over to get the new bandages. She had Kagome lift her arms to where it didn't hurt her too badly and she wrapped the first set around her middle and chest. Then she wrapped the second set diagonally across the wound near her heart to her side, and once she was finished wrapping her up, Kagome looked as if she had a new bandage shirt.

"Your wounds seem to have healed quickly enough," Hana murmured as she marked the stats on the board in her hands. "You should be able to leave by noon; but I advise that you don't do anything that strains your wounds, you hear?"

Kagome nodded simply, and slowly put her arms back down, hissing when the pain came back.

Hana, satisfied with her answer went away to fetch her a clean yukata - knowing that no girl would want anyone to visit when they weren't even properly dressed, and besides; Kagome's white haori that she came in there in was history, bloodied and shredded to bits. She came back shortly after, seeing Kagome still sitting up, looking out the window as she stood near her bed.

"Here, Kagome-san," she handed her the yukata.

Kagome took it and slid her arms in the sleeves before tying the obi tightly. "Can you tell my visitors that they can come in, now?"

"Of course," Hana nodded.

...

Hana came back with two very familiar men, as Kagome stared in shock. Her heart started beating loudly whenever she caught sight of them both staring at her intensely. And though the heart monitor was beeping sporadically was hinting enough that she was either happy to see them, or hella nervous, she still tried in vain to slow her heart down.

"Kagome," they spoke in sync, relieved that she was awake. Though, neither one of them were paying attention to the erratic beating of the machine, or the sudden coloring of Kagome's cheeks as her eyes grew wide.

"H-hey," she answered, finally finding her voice though it was small. "I get to leave here today..."

What she wasn't expecting was for her ex - Kotetsu to come running to her, gently wrapping his strong arms around her waist, though careful not to interfere with her newly wrapped injuries, making the embrace sweet, though awkward because of the way that she was still in her hospital bed. But, she didn't mind that, she instantly responded by wrapping her arms around him as well; holding him as tight as she could as he whispered in her ear.

"I love you, so much, Kagome-chan," he murmrued. "You have no idea how happy I am that you're still alive..."

_I love you, too_, she thought. But she didn't have the gall to say it out loud. Not when Izumo was still standing there. Her bright eyes moved to his form to watch him staring brokenly at the two of them, and she felt a small gathering of tears making their way to the rims of her eyes, and a frown form from her already pouty lips.

Izumo watched on as his heart seemed to take a deadly blow, though he watched anyways, with a renewed feeling of betrayal.

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><p><strong>AN: Woah.. that wasn't supposed to turn out like that, but I liked it... and I'm still considering making this into an all out fic. There are some things that I could do for it, I realized. <strong>

**Anywho, I hoped you enjoyed it. **

**This might or might not be the last chapter. **


	3. Comebacks

**Some people want to see this as a full story I'm guessing? :) aha. Well if that's so, here's the third chapter... **

**If you were fine with the first two chapters, feel free to stop reading. lol. xD**

**-I'll try to update whenever I can, I have a bunch of other stories to tend to, though. And, this is officially a story with Who-Knows-How-Many chapters. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Izumo finally turned his eyes away to look out the window as Kotestu released Kagome. He didn't have it in him to feel anything but hurt and betrayal towards the two, and he couldn't help though wonder if this was going to put a stick in between his and Kotetsu's friend and comradeship... or perhaps even a wall? He couldn't bring himself to care right now, though. The only thing that he could think of was the past, and his and Kagome's encounters as he had fallen... for her.<p>

"So, what were you heading here for?" Kotetsu asked, releasing the tension that had suddenly arisen with their sudden acts of affection.

Kagome seemed to remember why she came there in the first place as her eyes widened in remembrance.

Izumo finally turned his gaze back to Kagome, glad to see that Kotetsu had backed off, choosing to stand a few couple feet away from her. And, on Izumo's face there was a curious look, while he tugged the - damn him to admit it - _jealousy_ back into his subconscious as he wondered the same exact thing as Kotetsu... Though, it was obvious that she came there to see his long-time friend, he and Kotetsu both knew her well enough that if she was dying from someone that wasn't that important she wouldn't have been too determined to let her close _friends_ know; actually she wouldn't tell them at all.

So, it must have been someone important, and she was probably hoping that someone helpful would find her and revive her so that she could spill what she had caught information on. She was still allied with Konoha, after all, despite giving up her shinobi title ten years ago.

"I need to see Hokage-sama," she breathed deeply, making way to get off her hospital bed. "Right now –!"

It was apparently a no-go as Kotetsu rushed to her side pushing her back into the bed, and the intravenous attachments tugged at her skin as she mumbled an, "itai," Kotetsu took hold of both of her hands in one of his, rubbing circles on the backs of her palms as he managed to make eye contact with her.

Izumo unintentionally glared at his partner. _Really...?_

...

_"She didn't want me as much as I wanted her," he spoke softly._

_"What do you mean?"_

_There was a long silence as Kotetsu sized up his friend, trying to find the catch in him, before he decided to let his friend know what he already knew. It'd only be _fair. _Although, he his own heart yearned for the young priestess for himself, he knew that his friend's feelings were important... hence why they are _best friends_. Nothing could come between them... could it?_

_"I saw how she looked at you, Izu-_kun_," his voice wasn't angry, but there was an emphasis on the affectionate suffix in a not-so affectionate way. "She wanted _you_... and there isn't a thing that I can do about that."_

_"Then it looks like our rivalry gone to a whole 'nother level," Izumo stated seriously to his friend with blank eyes. No showing emotion at a time like this. "I'm not just looking to fight you, anymore."_

_..._

"Kagome, we'll go get him..." Kotetsu murmured. "How important was it?"

"Hm?" she hummed. "I'll get him myself... I'm not sure how important it is, actually. But, who knows. Some random new village pops up out of nowhere; you know? Better safe than sorry…"

She attempted to get up again, but Kotetsu pushed her back down like he had the first time, this time holding her wrists down to the pillow above her head as he looked her in the eyes as if reprimanding a child. She frowned in disappointment.

Kotetsu and Izumo also had frowns on their faces themselves. So there was something... and, _what village is she talking about?_

Kagome stared off in silence, noticing the tension building in the room again as she huffed a sigh, Kotetsu's hands still holding hers down to her pillow directly above her head. She wasn't sure what was going on, but her gaze moved to Izumo who was just staring at her in what looked to be desperation to her. Her previous frown found its way back to her face.

"In an hour I'll be released from here," Kagome looked up into Kotetsu's eyes, capturing his attention along with Izumo's. "Why don't you just do what I say... just once? You never listen to me... Besides I'm fine," she nodded to her heart wound that looked as if it only had a few more days or weeks to heal, when usually anyone else would have been dead. "Fast healing, remember?" she pouted.

Izumo sighed before walking over to her bedding, aware that Kotetsu stiffened while holding Kagome's hands above her head. But he paid him no mind as he leaned over the side of the bedding to catch her eye.

"If we let you out of here, the meds will hound us," he reasoned. "Just stay here for another hour and we'll all tell the Hokage about what it was later, since you refuse to let us do it for you."

His eye's shifted to where she had just pointed out had been wound had been narrowing slightly. Her breathing was still labored, even if her wound _was_ working to heal itself. Which meant, even if she did get out of the hospital, she'd have to take it completely easier than she had been, and that was saying something, because back whenever she was still a ninja, she refused to do any of the active missions that were ordered... which lead to her giving up her status as a shinobi and moving in to her father's old shrine...

"And even if your healing is up to par," he pointed to her chest where a blood stain peaked through the slightly open flaps of her white yukata on the gauze that was used to wrap up her torso. "Your wound is still fresh... you could still lose a lot of blood simply by moving the wrong way."

Kagome looked down to where he was pointing and blushed slightly as she pulled her shirt closed even tighter though she knew what he was implying. Which, it was true. She would have healed faster, though, if they hadn't have given her a blood transfusion - but she needed that or else she would have died due to blood loss, even though her wounds began quickly healing themselves the moment she was injured.

She met his eyes then moved her gaze to a now quiet Kotetsu as she thought over why she had came to Konoha in the first place. Of course she wanted to see Kotetsu before she died… But, she isn't dying _now_… and she's seen him quite enough, in fact she wanted him to go away; so that she could get out of this hospital to warn the Hokage of _something_.

What was it that she wanted to tell the Hokage, anyways? That a bunch of random Sound shinobi attacked her? That she couldn't defend herself because she doesn't believe in killing people for any reason – actually the Hokage already knew that she couldn't kill anyone, so that was a null question to make her decision on. But still, she had no proof of why they attacked her, and had no proof that Konoha had anything to do with it.

There wasn't really anything to go by because as far as she knew, the Sound Ninjas were just brought up. So, most likely there would be hardly any information about them anywhere... And how would she be able to prove that some village Hidden in the Sound was after her 'power'? She couldn't. She had nothing to back her up besides her almost fatal wounds and her newfound paranoia.

"Nevermind... I-" she cut herself off as her troubled gaze looked at her feet before she continued sheepishly. "I actually just wanted to see if I can move back here with no trouble... since I left so suddenly..."

That way if her suspicions were correct, she could defend herself, and try to defend Konoha as well, for whatever reasons the leader of Sound decide to give her. They weren't exactly specific whenever they spoke to her about using her supposed 'power'. All they were looking for was something of that sort, and whenever she told them she didn't have anything, she ended up in the condition she was in and in the hospital.

Izumo didn't notice the lilting of Kagome's voice as she lied easily, but he felt his heart skip a beat as he heard what she _said_.

_She's coming back?_, he thought with a small smile.

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><p>Kagome was checked out of the hospital by Izumo, and Kotetsu was called for assistance by Asuma for something that had something to do with the upcoming Chuunin Exams – the first of the year's nationwide exams. So, that left Izumo to lead Kagome to the Hokage office, every once in a while braving admiring the lady beside him with small gatherings of the telltale flutters in his stomach.<p>

As much as he was glad that she was coming back, he couldn't help but wonder; why _was_ she coming back? He had a suspicion it had something to do with being attacked and nearly dying, but who knows? If he knew her well enough, she'd tell when she thought she was ready.

But, that didn't keep him from asking her anyways.

"Why did you come back?" his deep gray eyes veered out of the corners as he glanced at her without turning her way.

While she didn't answer him right away, he took the time to take in her presence. She wasn't dressed like she used to be, it was like she left behind her shinobi past completely. She must have taken up the priestess job in the neighboring country, he realized. _She does have the abilities for it_.

Where she used to be a shinobi, she had worn form-fitting shorts, now instead of that she wore a knee-length set of summer hakamas that were blood red in color. Whereas she also used to wear more revealing clothes, like a mesh shirt – in place of that she wore a white haori with red bows around the collar and near the tops of the sleeves, though it was still opened a little, it revealed little, and left a lot to the imagination – the insides of it had red clothing stitched on to make it thicker and suitable for an all-weather attire along with black ankle boots that looked nothing like the standard shinobi sandals that she had grown up wearing. Lastly, when she used to let her long blue-black hair flow freely, she had tugged the longer parts of it into a low ponytail that was held together in an intricate red and white bow that was embroidered nicely, though Izumo still liked her hair better down.

"I missed you," she finally answered truthfully, turning to meet Izumo's eyes as they both stopped. "And since I had been dying at the time, I wanted to see you and Kotetsu again… and I owed him."

Izumo's breath caught as he saw the emotion behind her bright blue gaze, and he found that he couldn't meet it directly any longer. His eyes shifted away at the last minute, feeling that if he fell any more, he wouldn't be able to pull himself away… It's obvious she still loves Kotetsu… and Kotetsu practically gave him an oath that he loved her back.

Izumo felt as if he was caught in between a rock and a hard place. Though, it wasn't really an annoyance in his case, but it was a new torture. His gray eyes darkened to dull black solemnly. _This time I won't come in between them_, he thought, feeling his blood run cold. _I can't make her choose yet…_

"You owed him, huh?" he hummed dully as they began walking to the Hokage's tower again.

"Yeah…" she murmured. "I kind of did. Even though he broke up with me, my dying wish was to see him… and in all honesty – I didn't know that he was going to visit me in the hospital, and I hadn't counted on hurting you like that, Izu-kun."

There it was again, _that affectionate name_.

Though this time, when Kagome said it there was a little too much emotion coming off in her voice, filling him with false hope as he already knew he was going to be shot down for his partner – her ex. He shivered at the feeling of the cold blood coming back again.

"Hurt me?"

Kagome reached her good arm out and stopped Izumo in his tracks, effectively getting him to turn to meet her smoldering eyes as well. "If you deny it, then I won't bother trying to spare your feelings. I saw you with _my own_ eyes back in the hospital. Even though, I love Kotetsu, he could never take up the entire space in my heart for you, too."

_Does she have to keep reminding me that she loves him?_ , he wondered idly, knowing that her eyes could practically catch everything, and she knew what she did to him.

And, despite how he was feeling, a slow smirk pulled his lips up, and he wound his arm around her waist as he began carefully turning the lady back in the direction of the Hokage along with himself to keep up their journey to the big guy. "I won't deny it, then."

But he wouldn't say he was hurt, his smile grew a little more confidently.

"Hm," Kagome smiled finally, and laid her head on his shoulder as they made it to the slope that lead to the Hokage's office. "That's the spirit."

Izumo rolled his eyes, leading them up the slope slowly, being considerate of Kagome's weakened state. He'll get more out of her later.

…

When they were admitted into the office, the Sandaime was at his desk waiting, staring expectantly at the doors at they were pushed aside. And once they fully stepped into the room, Kagome looked around in familiarity, and surprise to see that the Hokage's office hadn't changed one bit. But, shockingly to Kagome, there were more people in the room as well; she grew a bit confused, but then she remembered that it's nearly time for the first exams of the year, so she relaxed.

"Ah, Kamizuki Izumo, and," the Sandaime spoke before looking at Kagome with surprised eyes. "Higurashi Kagome; what brings you back to Konoha?"

Kagome didn't answer for a minute looking around at the Chuunins, noticing that Kotetsu was amongst them as well, and Ibiki and the Mitarashi lady were at the forefront of the group – she was happy that she saw some familiar faces. Even so, she turned a warm smile to the Hokag, remembering why she was so devoted to protecting her village as a child.

"Oh, you know," she laughed softly. "A little birdie told me to drop by…" she trailed off as she heard a few whispers amongst the Chuunin off to the side of her and Izumo, and Izumo pulled her a little closer to him, as if shielding her from speculation.

'_Didn't she used to be a shinobi?_'

'_Where did she go?_'

'_I heard she quit to become a priestess,_'

The Hokage's once expressionless face let on a small smile, knowing that she had other reasons for coming back, and he didn't miss the way the Kamizuki's partner was glaring at Izumo. Hiruzen looked Kagome over and noticed that there was a peak of bloody gauze through her slightly opened haori, making him realize that she had been wounded. His eyes narrowed.

"Anything else?"

"Ah, yeah, actually," Kagome cut the act and met him with the exhaustion that she had gone through in the past few years showing easily in her deep blue eyes. "But, since I couldn't be sure _what_, I thought I'd stay here and… try my best to figure it out." _Before I officially came to you, or acted on it on my own_, she finished in her mind.

The Hokage nodded in confirmed attention; he was listening, she'd tell him in more detail later, right now there were a bunch of Chuunin and two Jounin in the room who were more than just curious to understand what she's saying.

"And you need me to grant you citizenship for the time being?" he deducted as the present shinobi all looked curiously at Kagome.

_What the hell are they even talking about?_

"Just until the Chuunin exams are over," Kagome amended. "Then I'll leave; if you don't need me here anymore."

_Her loyalties will always lay with the village_, he thought with a suppressed smile. "We'll always need you here, Kagome-san." But, the reason she came here, he will need to question her more about it. "And to be honest, you never lost your citizenship,"

Kagome looked shocked, along with Izumo and Kotetsu who were staring demandingly in alarm at the Hokage. She never lost her citizenship? Did that mean she was marked as a Missing Nin, then?

"What?" Kagome asked, her shock turning to horror. "But, I-I quit being a ninja…? Or did you…?"

"You can't quit," Hokage chuckled at the look on her face. "Being loyal to Konoha, unless you defected… With how you made it back here with the almost nearly fatal wounds you have right now just shows how loyal you are. Besides, I knew you were going to come back someday. Even though you said you quit, you didn't lose your ninja title."

Kagome stared in awe at the old man before her, almost running over to crush the old man in a hug, but Izumo's arms around her loosely reminded her of why she couldn't do that. So she settled for smiling warmly again at the elder, momentarily forgetting why she was coming back to Konoha in the first place.

As the conversation ended, Ibiki stepped forward to stand beside Kagome and Izumo's forms as he stared at the Hokage with seriousness radiating from him. "Hokage-sama, I'm sorry to trouble you with this, with Higurashi-san's spontaneous arrival; but, the first testing sector will still be short on examiners tomorrow, even with Kamizuki Izumo instated as well."

The Hokage moved his inquisitive gaze to Ibiki's towering form, and then back to Kagome's that was being held by the Kamizuki mentioned.

"How many do you need?" he asked with a smile in his voice.

Ibiki also moved his gaze to Kagome with a small smirk almost making its way onto his face. He knew of Kagome, he's only met her a few times when Anko was involved. And it was no rumor that her eyesight was very sharp; so he caught on pretty quickly to what the Hokage was suggesting.

"Just one or two," he answered vaguely, looking back to the village leader.

The Hokage seemed to hum in thought, though he already knew what he was going to say before he even asked Ibiki the question that he had. His gaze slid to the bright-eyed young woman with a secretive smile on his face; this should help her get more information, especially under Ibiki's care.

"Kagome, whatever the problem was, I'm sure you might take this job and suit it just perfectly," Hiruzen smiled at his strategy, he just killed two birds with one stone. "Ibiki, Kagome will fill in that job."

Ibiki smirked about the same time that Kagome did, and the group of ninjas and the priestess were dismissed from his office with a wave of his hand. But, Kagome, Izumo, and Kotetsu had stayed behind, knowing that Kagome had to explain in more detail now, since she couldn't exactly ask to speak to him in private before without alarming everyone else.

...

"Alright, Higurashi-san," Hokage's voice became emotionless as his deep baritone sounded indifferently to her ears. "What is it?"

Kagome began to tell him and her friends the retelling of her story of being attacked after taking in a large breath. _Why_ was she attacked, though?


	4. Let's Go

**A/N Response to a Review: Threesome Pairing, huh? xD I have read a lot of IzumoxKotetsu pairings, but Idk if I'd want this to be a three-way... I'm not sure about that one, _yet_. aha... xD But, I'll sleep on it. **

**Anyways, Enjoy this Chapter! **

**-I just found out that I get better inspiration at night! :D**

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><p>"<em>Is this her?" a rough male's voice came from somewhere behind Kagome as she stared, stunned, ahead of her into the trees that she had earlier figured out to be a genjutsu. It was a neatly crafted one, too, this one was; and she was pretty good at spotting genjutsu's. <em>I wish I could see_ them..., she thought, staring but not seeing the trees ahead of her. _

"_Yeah, that's the one…" a female's voice answered dryly, before she openly scoffed. "Though, I don't see what there is about this girl that's appealing which _he_ could possibly want. She doesn't seem all that 'powerful'. And how can he be convinced that she is a _key_? How is –!" _

" –_Kin!" her partner bit out. "It is none of our concern, he wants _her_; so, he'll get her." _

_After a few moments of confusion running through Kagome's mind, she felt a few stabs slash at her from many different directions which had immediately followed the Sound's execution of parylising her in place before she started to black out. _

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><p>Kagome stood partially naked in front of her body-length mirror hanging on the inside of her bathroom door as she took her haori off carefully to examine her cuts. She didn't need any medic's help to heal her own wounds, considering her reiki was working to cleanse (purify) and repair the wounds as soon as she even decided to think of it.<p>

That was one of the things that she'd learned while she was away – that she had the potential to be an exceptional healer, almost as good as Tsunade herself, but not quite, though; she hasn't been able to save anyone else but herself from the brink of death so far... which even then, she had only done so twice; she could use some serious training in the skill.

She peeled the now dirtied bandage off her body wincing whenever she saw the wound on her chest still opened, but much cleaner than it had been – thankfully. With the full intention of speeding up her healing, she held her right hand out in front of her, watching in the mirror carefully as the appendage started to glow it's usual blue-violet color.

Even though it was basic reiki used to purify demons – she found that if she purified her wounds, the healing process seemed to speed up, and the skin and tissues seemed to repair themselves much faster; so really she wasn't really doing anything but pressing a fast-forward button… But that didn't mean she didn't feel the side effects of it; the healing pains of it – just the itching, but she held back the urge to scratch.

She watched as the inside of the palm-sized gash – where her tissues and arteries were visible – patched itself together, sealing the ruptured arteries closed, then as the cells of her inert tissues fused and merged undergoing the usual stages of cell production, eventually sealing itself as well, and then the pink secondary layer of skin sealed as well, causing the top layer to almost be healed as well, but since it wasn't too bad, so she quit applying her reiki.

She turned and looked through her cabinet for a new wrap and once she found one she cut it up into bits before folding the appropriate amount, and placing it on the wound that she just healed, taking a piece of medical tape in her other hand before she taped it down as comfortable as she could, reaching for the bland uniform that she was given that was hanging on the shower bar that held the curtains.

"Kagome-chan!" she heard a voice outside of her bathroom door and she frowned, _It must be time to go then. _

"What is it, Izu-kun?" she asked, slipping on her Chuunin examiner suit with a bunch of black and darker grey buttons; the plain gray body suit which she assumed would be more appropriate for doctors to wear in an asylum.

"It's time to go," she could practically hear him smirking through the door. "The genin brats should be making their way to the academy now."

Kagome stuck out her tongue in concentration as she fought with the zipper on the back of her suit. "I'm kind of –" she groaned, fingers yanking forcefully on the stubbon zipper. "– Stuck. Wait a minute, please?"

Hearing what Kagome said, Izumo sighed, and slid her bathroom door open, mentally disappointed that she was already dressed, but outwardly relieved that she wasn't nude – because he would have been in trouble for sure if she was... He stepped behind her struggling form as she wrestled with the zipper that was almost completely up.

He took her hands and put them at her sides, catching his breath whenever his skin seemed to react at the small amount of skin contact, a light shock going through his hand. _She must have used her chakra to speed up healing what she could_, he thought. "Let me," he whispered in her ear, grinning when she huffed a sigh from her now pouting lips.

He easily reached in front of himself and tugged the zipper up gently, even though the scrape marks that were jagged and pulled down her back were already healed since Kagome had gone back to Hana the other day. But, he just wanted to be careful he didn't put too much pressure on the remaining bruises that she might or might not have.

"Thanks Izu-kun," she turned and looked at him gratefully, leaning forward to place a kiss on his cheek with a slight blush on her own, making Izumo wish that she'd kiss him on the lips instead...

"Let's go!" she took his hand and the both of them left her apartment, fading from existence, disappearing – he never got tired of the times that she does that.

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><p>They faded into the classroom that Ibiki had told the Chuunin to meet in with grins on their faces, as all the other Chuunin were already present, and staring at the duo with expectant eyes. Ibiki cut them an annoyed glance, grateful that they weren't genin getting ready to take the exam, with them being late and all.<p>

"You're fifteen minutes late," he barked at them.

Kagome and Izumo winced slightly, but headed toward Kotetsu that was leaning against a desk while watching them with narrowed eyes.

"Ne, ne," Kagome began, walking to the desk slowly. "Gomen-nasai, Ibiki-senpai, I had an irritated stab wound," she reminded.

Ibiki said nothing, but just sighed. "The genin are already in the classroom; anyone who isn't there has already missed their chances – whover isn't in that classroom by the time we arrive, cannot take the test – don't let them in. Understood?"

"Aye-aye, Captain!" Kagome saluted quietly.

"Good, let's go," he gave the gathered Chuunin a once-over.

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><p>Izumo and Kotetsu looked at the group of three Genin in front of them with surprised eyes from behind slightly opened doors. They had transformed into their pre-teen forms earlier on to weed out the Genin that didn't have a hope of becoming a Chuunin, because there was <em>way<em> too many candidates. But then, three colorful genin had walked up the stairs, one orange, one blue, and one pink – much too bright to be ninjas – and ruined their plan. Sort of.

The blue one, the last Uchiha heir, he had pointed out that the genin that were already there were under a genjutsu and they were heading to the third floor, the pink and orange ones had agreed with him, of course. So, deciding to try a different tactic, Izumo attacked the genin with a kick at the same time that the blue was trying an under kick, but one of the genin that were already there,_ getting beat up_ just moments before – the green one that looked strangely like Gai – cut in and caught both of their feet before they made contact.

_So those are Gai's students_, Izumo and Kotetsu seemed to think simultaneously. Then Kotetsu moved his gaze to the three other brightly colored ninja that had called off their genjutsu with a grin on his face. _And Kakashi-senpai's students as well... Huh, this year should be fun_.

"Naruto, Sakura," the Uchiha spoke, "Let's go."

The one called Naruto nodded, along with the one called Sakura, and they began to walk away as Izumo and Kotetsu turned away from the scene to face the inside of the room they were now in with insolent smiles on their faces with nothing but mischievous intent glowing in their eyes.

"So those are Gai's and Kakashi's Students..." Izumo trailed off with a smirk.

"This year is definitely going to be interesting..." Kotetsu finished.

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><p>Ibiki poofed into the classroom filled with genin first, the chuunin immediately followed suit, coming in just seconds after he did, all standing behind him at the front of the room. All of the genin had turned to them with full attention at the sudden arrivals. "Alright, you crazy faced degenerates, listen up!" his voice boomed before a smirk grew on his face. "It's time to begin. I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor. And from this moment... your worst enemy."<p>

Kagome, Izumo, and Kotetsu got small smirks on their faces as they looked over the genin that were seated, moving their gazes to the the few genin that were standing at the back of the room, seeming to have already got into some comotion over something or other. Kagome's eye's hardened though when she saw three very familiar faces amongst the group of nine Konoha rookie genin, and one that she couldn't recognize.

She leaned forward, in between Kotetsu and Izumo as she whispered to them. "The random Sound Village shinobi... funny how they're taking the exam..." the two men turned their heads to her curiously before she begin to explain. "They didn't have trouble putting me on a lifeline."

"That's them?" Izumo asked curiously, turning his head back to the sound genin, narrowing his eyes.

Kagome nodded once, also looking back to the genin.

"They don't look like much..." Kotetsu murmured, a frown coming on to his face. "Too bad we can't be excessively hard on them... We'll just have to try harder to catch them cheating..."

Kagome grinned, "I totally agree."

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><p>They got introductions out of the way, and Ibiki busted out the Sound Trio for starting fights without permission. The Chunnin examiners were pretty bored, yet interested in the set of Genin that were standing to get their seat number's in a line formed at the front. Once they got their assigned numbers, they all took their seats and Ibiki had promptly begun to explain the Exam as brief as he could, making sure that every single Genin heard his intended words of 'if any of them were caught cheating that they fail, and so does their teammates as well,' before they begun to take the exam as Ibiki had permitted.<p>

Kagome sat in between Kotetsu and Izumo in her seat that was placed against the wall like all the other Chuunin examiners. The chairs were a few feet apart, but she could still feel a little static of energy buzzing between the three of them as they looked to their report sheets that were on their clipboards. There was no way that any genin could be so obvious in cheating and not get caught with how many Chuunin were placed around the room. Her bright gaze swept stealthily as she searched for the Sound genin.

_Alright, arrogant brats_, she thought glaring at the Oto Nin by the name of Dosu._ You get caught cheating three times, and you're out..._, she chuckled in her mind, letting her gaze sweep over the rest of the genin. _Let the cheating begin... now_.


	5. Don't Leave Us

Thanks for the reviews, and favorite adds, and alert adds! ^_^

**-BelieveInKi1214**

**Enjoy! **

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><p>"Number 50; you fail," Kagome called blandly, marking numbers down on her clipboard.<p>

"Numbers 130 and 111; that means you, too," Izumo called next to her.

They were getting bored with the typical brainless students; they all cheated too obviously. Strangely enough, mainly the leaf's rookie genin stuck out the most, even though the bright one who'd loudly introduced himself as Naruto Uzumaki hadn't even attempted to take the test, much to the trio's amusement. Kagome couldn't help but wonder how he was even going to pass the test if he didn't write anything down?

But, she didn't have time to dwell on it, out of the corner of her eye she saw a _way-too obvious_ cheater. And by the amount of numbers that appeared after a few moments of elimination, it was their third strike, unfortunately. She chuckled. "81," she murmured to Kotetsu who was on the other side of her.

"Numbers, 81, 53, and 47," he called, marking their numbers down. "Get out of here! You failed."

...

It seemed like a while after a lot of eliminations when Kagome moved her glance to Izumo with a hidden smile on her face. Nearly a half was already gone. Their job was done. And to confirm it, Ibiki took action. They all heard the small shuffle of fabric from Ibiki and they all looked to him with full attention. Now, only a few minutes were left whenever Ibiki called the time and decided to give the genin the tenth and final question at last to keep them from panicking too soon.

"You can choose to stay and answer this question; or you can leave and fail," Ibiki told all of the genin seriously. Questions flew after he told them what was going on, and he simply replied with, "If you don't answer this question, you can leave and take this test again next year. If you answer this question, and get the answers wrong, you can't ever take this test again, and will ultimately be stuck as a genin for the rest of your life."

_Intimidation… and over thinking; that's Ibiki's game here_, Kagome thought. The Chuunin gathered in the room looked at the grouped genin – each seeming to be thinking over their options with dead worry on their faces – each and every one of them thinking that they were lucky that they didn't need to go through Ibiki's torture to get to where they are. Yet, the answer was quite obvious to _some_ of them.

A few more moments of silent panic going throughout the room before a bunch of nameless genin had started to call it quits. "I… I quit… I'm sorry, Nami, Seri."

"Number 49," one of the Chuunin called. "You're done. 55 and 62 you're out with him."

After that confession, it seemed that most of the genin had lost their motivation, and they started to raise their hands, and were ultimately granted permission to leave. It was maybe a few calls of quitting later that the brightly colored leaf genin slowly started to raise his hand with his teammates, Kagome, Izumo and Kotetsu paying close attention to him. Though the Chuunin mentioned had their clipboards at the ready.

_Though, you could never be too sure with this kid_, Kotetsu mused.

"I—I'm not giving up!" he exclaimed to Ibiki.

"_Of course_," Kagome sweatdropped, as she put her clipboard back down in her lap to stare inquiringly to the blonde genin. "Should have known…"

"Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want! You're not gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I DO get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage someday!" he continued to yell, staring the annoyed proctor down.

Though he was brash, and everything about him was loud, his words seemed to have given a voice of inspiration to others. The Chuunin watched as they slowly began to put their hands down and nodded along with the blonde with renewed spirits. Kagome smirked a little at his display of being strong willed. _He reminds me of… myself_, she thought_. But, I _did_ quit…unlike him_.

"If that's your final answer…" Ibiki trailed off.

"It is! That's my ninja way, and I never go back on my word!"

Ibiki sighed and looked around the room for any Genin that would seem to change their minds and when he found none he looked back to the one called Naruto Uzumaki. _He's an interesting one…_ He moved his passing glance to his group of Chuunin that were stationed around the room receiving a nod from each and every one of them to guarantee that none of them were showing any signs of backing out before he looked back to his examinees with his lips that were in a thin line, slowly forming a genuine smile.

"I guess you all pass," he chuckled.

All the genin stared in shocked silence before the one that questioned him before asked him another question to which Ibiki promptly answered, telling them that there was no tenth question, and that was the final question. Soon after a full explanation to the curious genin and a few cheers from 'Naruto', the chuunin felt the unquestionable chakra spike that they all were a little too familiar with before one of the far windows busted open, revealing a figure wrapped completely in a large white covering. _Anko_, they thought, sighing.

"Head's up, boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating!" she managed to land with the banner covering Ibiki's form, while it was hung behind her effectively giving her a grand entry. "I'll be your next proctor. Anko Mitarashi. You ready for the second test?" there was no answer in return besides stunned stares and a few mouths gaping open in their unclouded shock. "Good! Then let's go, follow me!"

Ibiki stepped out from behind the banner, scowling at Anko as all the Chuunin held back their snickers. "Once again, Anko; You're too early."

Anko ignored his statement in favor of looking over her candidates in curiosity, though once she did, she seemed to do a double take as she looked over the genin once again, though with irritation more than anything else. "More than half... Really, Ibiki?"

"These were a wise bunch..." he muttered, looking Anko in the eye.

"I think you're just getting too soft," she sassed him, though she turned back to look at the examinees with a thoughtful look on her face. "Even so, this bunch will just get split in half again," she finished speaking to Ibiki, finally addressing the genin in question. "That's the best thing about the second test... even more people get eliminated..." she smirked wildly.

"Alright, examiners, you're dismissed," Ibiki nodded to them.

The Chuunin around the room began to stand up quietly, walking to Ibiki with their clipboards, some of them looking over the Genin with pitying looks for them to be getting Anko next, while some were just snickering taunts. The last three in the line to hand Ibiki their clipboards were Kotetsu, Izumo, and Kagome and once that was done, they all nodded in salute to the genin. _Good luck_, Kagome thought.

"See you all on the flipside," Izumo muttered quietly. "If the majority of you actually makes it..."

Kagome elbowed him from his side, while Kotetsu snorted subtly as they walked out the door. "I doubt half of them would even get halfway through the forest."

"I don't know... that Naruto sure did seem like something," Kagome told them thoughtfully as they made their way down the hall. "If it wasn't for him, the numbers probably would have been even less than it was."

Izumo and Kotetsu seemed to think about it for a moment before they reluctantly nodded in agreement. _Kakashi-senpai's students..._

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><p>They walked through the village, with their walkies on their person, in their pockets, in case they were needed while all three headed to Kagome's temporary apartment to celebrate in their own way. They had many things to celebrate, in all honesty. But, tonight they had earlier decided that they were going to celebrate Kagome's coming back.<p>

"So, did you guys want the usual...?" Kagome looked them over with an unknown emotion in her eyes.

"Yeah," Kotetsu nodded with a smile on his face, Izumo looked between the two of them with darkened eyes but he didn't say anything for a minute as realization dawned on him. If both of them were invited in her home there's no telling what would happen, but he managed to cover that up with a teasing about her cooking.

"Are you going to cook again?" he asked with a horror-struck face.

"My cooking isn't even bad!" she glared at him, before she caught his sly grin and she laughed it off. "But, no, I'm too tired to cook... I ordered pizza while Ibiki told his speech. It should be about done by now..."

Kotetsu seemed to pout at her, "I love your cooking, though."

Izumo rolled his eyes and pulled Kagome closer to him by her waist, which in turn made Kotetsu pull her arm that was closest to him to pull her back his way. Kotetsu knew why Izumo was doing what he was, though he thought he'd made it clear to his long time friend that they wouldn't go for her heart until she was aware of it first. Why the hell Izumo was already trying stake a claim on the small woman was something that Kotetsu wasn't understanding. He glared at Izumo heatedly.

"I'm not a ragdoll," she slapped Kotetsu's hands away from her arm with a frown on her face, and began to pry Izumo's arms off of her before she sighed and stopped to catch their eyes.

Izumo wouldn't look her in the eye, now feeling guilty for getting a headstart, but he couldn't stop. Kotetsu already had her... and Izumo had helplessly fallen in love with the girl, he didn't want to lose her again. He was trying his hardest so that she didn't leave him.

Kotetsu, practically in the same situation as Izumo, stared at Kagome with his heart beating wildly in her chest. He couldn't help but think that they should tell her now, since Izumo had already tried to sway her his way, he moved his gaze to his friend that was now looking down toward the ground before a slow smirk raised on his face; He saw that Kagome was about to talk, but he cut her off.

"Kagome-chan, we're sorry," he began. "But, we just don't want to lose you again... it's much too soon for you to go again."

"I'm not leaving. I have something to tend to while I'm here," her voice was soft and hardly heard when she spoke, her eyes were distant and clouded with the look of determination that she usually gained when her mind was set on something. After recieving the doubtful looks from the two she sternly stated, looking into their eyes. "If that doesn't assure you, then, I officially _swear_ that I won't leave you."

Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged unsure glances but let small smiles onto their faces despite what they were thinking. If she said she wouldn't leave, they should believe her, right? _That's what she said before she left the last time_, Izumo thought. _But this time, it seems different... Maybe she'll actually stay_.

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><p><strong>End Note: Genma and Raido should be showing up soon. xD I'm gonna have some fun with the Jounin and Chuunin ranks. :D <strong>

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. :)**


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